EDITORIAL: Commission party labels offer little for county

We are concerned with the Rutherford County Republican Party's decision to include County Commission candidates in a 2014 primary.

While some of our 21 commissioners might be vocal about their party affiliations, they have traditionally been on the ballot without an "R," "D" or "I" next to their names.

Knowing a party preference could help some undecideds choose for whom they will vote. But at the same time, we fear some voters could rely too heavily on the party in decision-making without really getting to know the candidate.

Local elections are just too important for that to occur. We need to know individual commissioners by name rather than just by party affiliation.

The county does hold partisan elections for eight constitutional offices with six up for election in 2014, including mayor and sheriff. General election voters, however, have not in the recent past had party nominees when it comes to the commission, which has authority over the county's property and wheel tax rates, all budgets for the county's government and school services, and zoning for land use outside the cities.

Rutherford County Democratic Party Chairman Mike Williams opposes partisan elections for the commission: "It's more important in a local race for people to choose by the candidate and not by party affiliation." Of course, the Democrats could suffer in local races, considering Rutherford County generally votes Republican.

But even Commissioner Steve Sandlin told the GOP Executive Committee he's against fellow Republicans choosing candidates in the 2014 election: "The policy we do is local. I opposed it because we represent all the people, not just the Republicans."

Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess, a Republican, said he favors keeping commission elections nonpartisan just as the law prohibits city councils from holding partisan elections.

"I just really don't think it's wise to go forward with something that has the potential to make things more difficult to make good, reasonable decisions for our citizens," said Burgess.

We find ourselves in agreement with the mayor. Although some might fault the logic, we say if it's not broken, don't fix it.

Our traditional way of electing commissioners has served Rutherford County well. It forces candidates to meet residents in their district, rather than counting on being ushered into office by partisan voters.

But members of our GOP Executive Committee disagree. We can only hope now that candidates rise above their party labels and continue to offer their constituents the personal attention we've come to expect from local government.

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EDITORIAL: Commission party labels offer little for county

We are concerned with the Rutherford County Republican Party's decision to include County Commission candidates in a 2014 primary.